Its net debt stood at £28.8 million on January 1 last year. The company employed 1,626 staff, according to the accounts.

Trevor Moore and David Adams, the former chief executive and chairman of Jessops, have since decamped to HMV, which is in discussions with its banks after admitting that it was on course to breach the conditions attached to its debt.

HSBC took a 47 per cent stake in Jessops in 2009 in return for foregoing £34 million of debt. Snap Equity gained control of the company’s assets with the Jessops pension fund taking a 33 per cent stake alongside HSBC and an employee benefit trust, which took a 20 per cent shareholding.